Chapter 13: Who Did They Offend?
Looking at the snake meat on the ground, Tang Feng’s smile deepened.
She smiled at Song Chu and said, “Snake meat is a great tonic. I’ll stew it for you tonight.”
“It just looks like a lot. It’s still hot now, and it won’t keep well. Should we sell the rest?” she thought for a moment and asked.
Song Chu took her arm and said, “We won’t sell the snake meat this time. We’ll give some to Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, Eldest Maternal Uncle, Second Maternal Uncle, and Third Maternal Uncle.”
“Oh right, we should also give some to Third Older Brother’s family. After dividing it like this, there won’t be much left.”
“Why should we give it to so many families? No, we can salt it and eat it.” Before Tang Feng could speak, Song Lao Er spoke up, pained, “Even if we let Lao Si sell it, that would be better.”
Song Chu rolled her eyes at him, “What do you know? They’ve been good to us. We shouldn’t always think about taking advantage. Relationships are maintained through give and take.”
Her father had two brothers, and their families weren’t well-off. They would come and help when needed, and the family was quite united.
Her mother would occasionally take advantage of the two families but rarely reciprocated. This couldn’t continue; the relationships would gradually fade.
Tang Feng was also initially reluctant to part with the snake meat, but after hearing Song Chu’s words, she felt they made sense. It was caught on the mountain and didn’t cost any money, so if her daughter wanted to share, she would share.
“That’s right. Your uncles and maternal uncles are good to our family. When we have good things, we should also think of them,” she decided.
Song Lao Er was still pained, but seeing that the two bullies of the family had made a decision, he had no right to object.
Besides, there was still a lot of snake meat left, enough for a few good meals.
“I’ll take this snake meat to the cowshed to cook tonight. I’ll bring it back after it’s done,” Song Chu said.
Tang Feng looked at her in surprise, “Why take it to the cowshed to cook? Did someone gossip about you catching snakes? Just watch, I’ll go give them a piece of my mind.”
Seeing her mother ready to go out and start a fight, Song Chu smiled and explained about meeting Zhao Di on the mountain and how he was a descendant of an imperial chef.
Of course, she didn’t leave out her plan to have her second brother learn to cook.
After listening, Tang Feng frowned and said, “Yaobao, if you get too close to them, the villagers will gossip.”
Song Lao Er also didn’t want to learn any cooking skills. That was too tiring. He preferred to lie around and eat, “Yeah, Little Sister, don’t be fooled by them. You can’t have too much contact with them.”
Song Chu knew her family’s temperament. They wouldn’t listen to any grand reason.
So she changed her approach, “Mom, I heard from Educated Youth Gu that there are also generals and university professors among them. If we offer them warmth during their hardship, they definitely won’t forget our kindness.”
“It’s better to offer charcoal in the snow than to add flowers to a brocade,” she emphasized with a heavier tone.
Her family members were all eccentric, their thought processes different from normal people. It was impossible to make them behave well all at once. It had to be done gradually.
When they broadened their horizons in the future, their perspectives would naturally widen, and they wouldn’t be so fixated on such trivial matters.
So only by offering benefits as bait would they take the hook.
Sure enough, Tang Feng was immediately persuaded, but she still asked with some uncertainty, “Is what Educated Youth Gu said reliable?”
“Of course, it’s reliable. His family has high-ranking officials in Kyoto.” Song Chu felt that using Gu Yue as a scapegoat was convenient. After all, he was from Kyoto and his demeanor didn’t seem like he was from an ordinary family.
In her memory, Old Gu was his grandfather, and his identity should be quite significant.
“Then we’ll secretly contact them and offer them warmth?” If any of her other sons had said this, Tang Feng would have slapped them. But since it was her daughter, she thought it made perfect sense.
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Song Chu nodded, “We definitely can’t contact them openly, and we shouldn’t be too obvious about it. We just need to let them feel our family’s goodwill.”
If they were too obvious, those people weren’t blind and would see through it.
Tang Feng smiled and said, “That’s true. My Yaobao is so smart.”
“You two should learn from your sister. All you know is how to fool around. You’re really a bunch of useless ingrates,” she then glared at her two unpleasant sons.
“……” Song Lao Er and Song Lao Si felt wronged. If you want to praise Little Sister, then praise her. Why are you scolding us? What does it have to do with us?
Song Chu agreed, “That’s right. Learn from me in the future, so you don’t do things that make people dislike you.”
“……” Who did they offend?
“Second Older Brother, the dishes made by a descendant of an imperial chef are incomparable to those from the state-run restaurant in the county town. Don’t you want to try them?” Song Chu asked Song Lao Er.
Song Lao Er swallowed, “Of course, I want to try them.”
“But those are someone else’s dishes. You can’t eat them often. Wouldn’t it be better to learn the skill yourself so you can make them whenever you want?” Song Chu began to set her trap.
Song Lao Er rolled his eyes, “Little Sister, do you think I’m s*upid? Even if I learn, I’m not the one who cooks in this family.”
Song Chu found that this guy was indeed quite cunning and not so easily fooled, but she had a backup plan, “If you learn to cook, then you’ll be in charge of the cooking in our family from now on. You can do whatever you want.”
To become a great chef, one must go through ingredients in the early stages. There must be sacrifice for gain.
Hearing this, Song Lao Er couldn’t help but be tempted. The main thing was that if he could cook, he could sneak food.
“But you don’t have the final say in this,” he glanced at his watchful mother.
Song Chu acted coquettishly towards Tang Feng, “Mom, let Second Older Brother take over the kitchen from now on. You’ve worked so hard for this family. You have to work and then come back to cook. It’s too tiring. You should rest.”
“Mom knows you’re filial, but if I leave the kitchen to your Second Older Brother, won’t that be like letting the sheep into the tiger’s den?” Tang Feng was moved but hesitant.
“Mom, that’s because we’re poor. I have a way to make money. Once it’s implemented, our family will get better and better. It doesn’t matter if we waste a little in the kitchen.”
Song Chu shook her arm, “I just feel sorry for you. Second Older Brother is usually the laziest at home. He should share some of the housework with you.”
“……” Song Lao Er was astonished. Not only did he find that his sister’s ability to coax their mother was getting better, but he also felt that her ability to lie with a straight face had improved. In this family, she was clearly the laziest one who did nothing, and now she was making him take the blame.
Tang Feng was swayed by Song Chu’s coaxing and relented. She glared at Song Lao Er, “Alright, I’ll give you a chance to take charge of the kitchen. If you dare to waste things, I’ll beat you to death.”
Song Lao Er smiled ingratiatingly, “Of course, I won’t waste things. You can rest assured.”
He wouldn’t dare to waste things either. At most, he would just sneak some food while cooking.
Thinking about being able to sneak food in the future, he found his tigress sister Song Chu much more pleasing to the eye.
